


Dashed Hopes

by Ziddia



Series: Amnesia's Blessing [3]
Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-26
Updated: 2011-12-26
Packaged: 2017-10-28 05:13:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/304137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ziddia/pseuds/Ziddia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rainbow Dash has been turned down by Applejack, the only pony she ever though she would ever love. What can she do now?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dashed Hopes

**Author's Note:**

> This is in the Amnesia's Blessing storyline, starting around the beginning of Part Two and ending about two thirds of the way through or so. Contains spoilers for the entirety of Part One (Love) and parts of Part Two (Betrayal). Also, this should probably be part three of this series. Read Betrayal first!
> 
> My dA: ziddia.deviantart.com  
> My Tumblr: ziddia.tumblr.com

Rainbow Dash stalked out of her house, muttering to herself angrily. It was the night after Applejack had shouted at her for asking for her love, and the day hadn't gotten any better since. She saw, way down on the ground, Applejack running out of the library, and gave a pained smirk. "Look at that... AJs running back to her precious Trixie now is she? Huh. What a surprise."

As she muttered to herself angrily about the oddities of CERTAIN FILLYS and how they could SOMEHOW resist the Dash, she didn't notice her slow and unintended descent- at least, she didn't until she crashed into Twilight's treehouse library. "Oh, horsefeathers", said Dash angrily. The day just wasn't going well for her.

Twilight galloped up to the crash zone, where she found the cyan filly lying in the tree. "Rainbow Dash..." she said to herself, tutting at the damage Dash had caused. "What happened?" she asked.

"I dunno Twilight. I was just flying and being real cool and all that, and then WAM- I'm in your place!" The filly looked genuinely shocked. Twilight had to stifle a giggle; Dash had to admit, she probably looked really stupid on the tree like that! "Why don't you come in and sit down for a while, Rainbow. I have some books on how this could have happened in my library?" Twilight asked.

"I dunno, Twilight. I don't know if we should... I mean, do you really want to waste your time on helping me?"

Twilight shook her head. "I forgot- you don't like libraries much, do you? Don't worry, your excuses weren't THAT awful..." Twilight chuckled to herself. "How about a walk? I'm sure I can figure this out for you..."

Dash took on a perplexed look. What was this sudden interest in her? She guessed it couldn't hurt... Maybe it would be good for her to spend time with a friend. "I'll be right there Twilight", she said, and started to pull her way out of the treehouse. And she was struggling so hard that she didn't see the crafty smile on Twilight's face.

***

"And then I was all like, yeah! I am the fastest! And I'm gonna be a Wonderbolt!" said Rainbow enthusiastically to her friend, who looked slightly bored at the story of Dash's inspiration, although she was trying her best to put on a listening guise. They had figured out the possible problem long ago (stress) and were just talking now.

"That's nice Rainbow, but I have something really, really important to say..." said Twilight hesitantly. Oh, how was she going to say this?

"More important than my life story? Wow, must be something pretty amazing then!" joked Rainbow, but her friend could see the fear in her eyes, and the pain that she still kept in her heart from her rejection.

"Well... I wanted to talk about... Well... You and Applejack. She... She told me about you and her, and Trixie", said Twilight slowly.

Rainbow collapsed to the ground, and looked up at Twilight with angry eyes, and- was that hurt as well? And maybe betrayal? "She TOLD somepony? This was a private thing between me and her, and she TOLD you?"

"I-I-I... I am so sorry..." stammered Twilight. When Rainbow heard that, she spun around again, and nearly slammed into Twilight.

"Sorry? You're sorry? You don't understand at all! Just saying sorry won't make the pain go away! Just saying sorry won't make me stop loving her-" and at this the cyan filly broke off into huge, racking sobs, so different from the carefree, powerful Pegasus that the Ponyvillians knew and loved.

Twilight patted Dash's back awkwardly, not knowing what to do in a situation like this. "There, there..." she whispered in what she hoped was a comforting manner. She stepped back, as she realized that the other filly was unconscious from the pain of her love of Applejack. Twilight took a deep breath as she looked at Dash. The filly really was adorable when she was asleep- that is, even more than she was when she was awake-

Twilight froze. Dash? Adorable? She must be tired. She'd never looked at Dash in that way. Okay, maybe once. She looked at fillys that way every now and then; it was the wise choice for a smart filly. But she hadn't ever wanted anything like that from Dash-

Suddenly, she heard a faint wailing, coming from the general direction of a huge building. Twilight looked around and realized that she was in Sweet Apple Acres, which meant that the building was really the barn where Trixie and Applejack were staying, and-

"Oh, Celestia", said the filly as she galloped towards the barn, leaving Dash completely forgotten.

***

Dash woke that morning, the sun shining on her back and the birds chirping in her ears. She stretched luxuriously, smiling in the warmth of the sun, and wait. Sun? In her cloud home where no sunlight came through unless she wanted it to? Birds? In her house which was too high up for birds?

She looked around and saw the huge expanse of Sweet Apple Acres before her- and the barn where Trixie was staying. All of a sudden, the night before came back to her. The crash, the walk, her explosion at Twilight, a vague outline of a beautiful mare's head, comforting her...

Beautiful mare? Now she must be imagining that. "Horseapples!" she swore. She had probably messed up her friendship with Twilight, and she hadn't done much good between her and Applejack either. Actually, that was an understatement. Applejack probably hated her.

Dash looked at the ground in dismay. Why would this happen to her? What could she do? How could she redeem herself to these two ponies? The best way to do that would be to talk to them, but she just couldn't talk to AJ at this moment. Too painful. Which left Twilight.

She shot off like a rocket, reaching Sonic Rainboom speeds in her haste to get to her friend's house. She burst through the door, rushing to Twilight, who had only just woken up and still had awful bedmane, and giving her a huge hug. "I'm so sorry Twilight", bawled Dash, who still hadn't removed her arms from the filly's chest.

"Oh- thanks Rainbow, I accept the apology, but you're kind- of- crushing- me", gasped out Twilight.

"Oh- oops. Sorry Twi." said the rainbow mare sheepishly.

"So what brings you here at this time of the morning Dash? I mean- I know you're apologizing, but what for?" asked Twilight a little tiredly. "You know, this crying, and then attacking me last night as well, it's kind of out of charact- oh... I understand."

"Yeah, I'm kind of trying to say sorry for what happened yesterday and to ask if we can be friends?" asked Rainbow, the words spilling out of her mouth too fast for her brain to follow.

"Well, what do you mean? We never stopped being friends, so... Yeah?" said Twilight, a touch of a grin on her face. She touched the fillys foreleg lightly. "Hey- I'm meant to go visit Applejack today, do you wanna come with me? And, kind of, say sorry to her too?" Twilight said this with a bit of a silly filly smile on her face, which made Dash wonder what she was up to.

"Nah, I'm not sure I can forgive that pony yet. I will eventually though so stop looking at me like that Twilight!"

Twilight shrugged. "Okay, Rainbow. If you wanna talk or something you can wait there- I won't be too long... But you have something to do, right?"

The cyan-blue filly nodded, smiling. "Thanks for understanding, Twi. You know me- busy, busy filly, hahaha... The weather patrol never gets a days rest... Anyway, thanks again..." Rainbow touched her cheek lightly as she left.

Twilight shook her head as the beautiful- beautiful? What?- no, as the NORMAL mare left. She sighed; it was too bad that Dash hadn't wanted to stay a while... But wait- as beautiful as the mare was, she didn't look at Dash like that! Sighing, she slowly began the long trek to Sweet Apple Acres, determined to have a happy face on by the time she got there.

***

Dash soared in the sky, her second in command Cloudkicker on her right. The mayor had ordered a storm for today, and her crew was probably late already. "Alright team. Let's band together and make a thunderhead", she ordered the weather team. They were happy to oblige, soaring into the clouds and packing them together into a big, black stormcloud. As they worked under her not so watchful eye, Dash found her thoughts turning to Twilight Sparkle. What was it with that filly that kept her coming back? The only other pony she had ever done that for was Applejack, and that was because she had loved her- still did love her. But that beautiful unicorn mare...

And there was the problem. Beautiful? She had never wanted to look at Twilight that way. She never HAD looked at Twilight that way. And yet, she still felt some kind of connection to her, as though they had some kind of bond. It was probably because she was such a cute little pony... And, every time they met, she found some excuse to touch her face, or her forelegs, or something.

Dash shook herself. Just a little infatuation, she guessed. Nothing close to what she still felt for AJ; nothing different to what she had felt for a hundred different pretty fillies before. At this little statement, she chuckled to herself. She had spent years telling everypony she wasn't a filly fooler, and now it could all come apart... Just from Twilight Sparkle. But it was just a crush. It would pass.

At least that's what she told herself.

***  
One week later...  
***

Twilight lay in her room, relaxing on her little couch in the main foyer of the library. It had been a week since Applejack had left in search of Trixie, and they still had received no word from either filly. Everypony had almost given up hope.

There had been one beacon of light in all this sadness around them, or there was for Twilight at least, and that was Rainbow Dash. She had come to visit every day and helped Twilight stay strong. It was almost as if she didn't care about AJ anymore, but that would be ridiculous. Nopony could get over love without finding love again... Twilight chuckled to herself. Of course Dash wasn't over it. For a smart unicorn, she really was stupid sometimes.

There was a loud crash as something slammed into the locked door- it was probably Spike, since he had been out most of the day. Come to think of it, she had no idea what he had been doing. She shrugged; she had been given a day to entertain her fantasies, and she was glad for it. Hopefully those little fantasies would be enough to keep her happy through the next long week without that special filly...

She trotted over to the door, and opened it carefully, to let Spike tumble in. He had clearly been pounding on it and had been a little off balance when she let him in. "Oops- sorry Spike", she said, with a little laugh. But Spike was already up and running to the foyer, leaving a very surprised Twilight behind.

"Spike, what on Equestria is going on?" she asked, a little worried for her faithful dragon assistant.

"Oh no- I haven't shown you yet?! Oh, here Twi- its important, and Pinky wants me to help set up a party..."

Twilight let her friend ramble on. What could possibly be so important that she had to see it right away? She unfurled the little parchment, gasping as she began to read the surprisingly short note:

'To my faithful student Twilight,

It is my great pleasure to inform you that you friends are on their way home, and that both Applejack and her unlikely companion are safe. I fully intend to hear a full report from you when they return.

Yours sincerely,

Princess Celestia.'

Twilight stood for a moment, shocked at this. Then she gave a huge shout of excitement, and rushed to Spike in the kitchen to help him get ready.

***

Dash was flying with Cloudkicker and their crew, just for fun, when a little grey Pegasus pony jumped in front of her. Rainbow Dash came to a halting stop, the little pegasus in front of her holding out a letter. "Mail!" said Derpy proudly, holding out the piece of paper for her to examine. Dash sighed, but didn't argue- you couldn't really argue with a pony as special as Derpy.

Dash took the note and, satisfied, Derpy left. Cloudkicker and the rest finally zoomed back to her- probably only now realizing that she had stopped. "What's up Dash?" asked Cloudkicker, as Dash tore open the letter and scanned it quickly. It was from Twilight, and it was all about Applejack.

"AJ and Trixie are alive, and coming back." said Dash flatly. While the rest of her squad cheered, and gave each other hugh fives, she just hovered stiffly. Was this some kind of sick joke? Twilight knew that she would be hurt by this letter, right? And yet... Rainbow Dash would need to talk to her very soon.

***

Twilight was just getting excited for her friends return and Pinky's party when there was a knock on her door. She opened the door slowly, knowing what was probably coming, and was meet full in the face with streamers.

"YOU'RE IIIINNNNVVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITED!" screamed Pinky Pie, Ponyville's premier party pony. She jumped around Twilight a couple times, shoved a party hat on her head, and gave her a little piece of paper. Then, she closed the door and left, leaving a bewildered Twilight to stare at the door for the second time in five minutes.

She took a little look at the party invite and smiled at the sweetness of it.

'Dear Twilight!

Because you're one of my BESTEST BEST friends you can come have a party with us with streamers and cake and drinks and stuff and it's a party for Trixie and Applejack coming back and you should bring a date because we all should bring a date because Applejack and Trixie are dating- did you know that? I didn't know that until this morning!

Anyway. Hope you can come!

From Pinky Pie xxx'

Twilight shook her head and smiled. It was so like Pinky to write that like she would say it... With a limitless amount of breath, that is. She read it again, and a slight frown creased her head. Well. A date? Looks like she wouldn't be going to this one at all. She gave a little sob at the thought of her dream pony going with somepony else, then, as she heard Spike calling her name, she straightened up. Even if she couldn't have the beautiful filly of her dreams, she would stay strong for Spike. Who knows? Maybe she could go just to give him moral support. And maybe not.

Then there was a knock on the door, just as she was ready to leave. Twilight groaned. This should be good.

***

Dash stalked up to the library door, anger painted on her face. She raised a hoof and knocked as hard as she could. The door quickly opened, to reveal a Twilight Sparkle who looked completely worn out, but smiled at the sight of her friend. "Hey Rainbow! What's wrong?" she asked cheerfully. Dash nearly shook her head, or laughed out loud. Cheerful? She had no right to be cheerful.

"Twilight, why would you send me this letter? Why would you send me a letter all about Applejack and Trixie, and them coming back, and me being all alone and-" she broke off for a moment, catching her breath, and her tears before they fell. "Twilight Sparkle, why on Equestria would you send me a letter like THIS?"

Twilight looked at her with adorable big eyes, brimming over with tears at the pain she was causing Dash, and Dash was kind of melting, which actually felt about 20% better than she thought it would, and- "No! I, uh, I, don't need to know! I would've, er, gone just fine without knowing!"

Twilight shook her head. "Why Rainbow", she said, "I sent you that letter because I thought you would be happy. I thought you were past Applejack... And... Trixie..." The lavender filly seemed to have problems forcing the words out. "Apparently, I was wrong."

Twilight looked at her with those big eyes, sad eyes, and Rainbow collapsed inside. "I'm sorry Twilight- I'm meant to be Loyal, but I'm not very good at it am I? Im sorry I came, this visit was kind of a waste..." she sniffled.

Twilight laughed, a sound that to Rainbow sounded a bit strained and maybe... Could it be nervous? "Well, Rainbow, I guess your visit doesn't have to be a waste after all..." she said, moving a step closer to her. Yeah, that was definitely nervous. The thought slipped away from her as Twilight took another step closer. "Well... There's a party on at Sugarcube Corner for them..." she said hesitantly.

"Oh yeah, I got an invitation. Haven't really... Looked at it... Yet... Eep..." said Rainbow. The last part was unintentional- it just slipped out as Twilight took another step forwards. They were so close now, Rainbow could tell that she smelled like lavenders, just like her color. A dopey smile grew on her face.

"Well, Uh... It's a partners dance..." said Twilight. Rainbow just nodded stupidly, still intoxicated by how close this filly was. This filly that she was only meant to have an 'infatuation' over. This filly that she wasn't meant to love. This filly that was forcing her to reassess those views...

"Umm... Well..." Twilight stammered, as Rainbow just smiled and nodded. A flash of anger crossed Twilight's face- or maybe it was irritation?- and Rainbow kind of got a little of her senses back.

"Er... So what are you trying to tell me?" she asked Twilight, absentmindedly, while she stared at those pretty violet eyes.

"*sigh*... I guess I just have to say it." Twilight took a deep breath, steadying herself maybe? Rainbow didn't know and didn't care. "WILLYOUGOTOPINKYPIESPARTYWITHMEPLEASE?" said Twilight quickly.

Rainbow just hovered there for a while, like she had when she had gotten that letter. Well... That had snapped her out of her little trance. She had to be Dash- cool and collected. And yet, she couldn't say anything. She just hovered there with her mouth open, jaw almost hitting the ground. Spike stuck his head out from around a door and muttered a little, "awkward...".

"You mean like, on a date? With you?" asked Dash, dumbfounded. There was no way that was what the pony had meant, and she was kicking herself right now for being such a stupid loudmouth, she was meant to think before she spok-

"Well, yeah. Maybe I wasn't so clear when I shouted, haha..." said Twilight weakly. Dash just stared at her again; the pretty unicorn's face looked a little nervous- no, a lot nervous- and some embarrassed as well.

Dash leant over Twilight and gave her a little kiss on the cheek- which probably lingered a little while longer than it should have, but it didn't matter because Dash was in bliss the whole time. She picked up the whole cool thing again, giving what she hoped was a cute smile for the filly. "Pick me up at seven, okay?" she said softly, and closed the door.

***

"WILLYOUGOTOPINKYPIESPARTYWITHMEPLEASE?" shouted Twilight, straining her voice so that Rainbow could definitely hear. As soon as she said it, she regretted it. She had wanted to try and ask Rainbow out in the coolest way she could- she'd been studying 'cool' ever since she figured out her feelings for the cyan mare and had come up with the crazy idea of asking her out. And all that effort for nothing.

Spike stuck his head around from behind a door; he couldn't see Dash from that point- thank Celestia!- but he had heard what she had said. "Awkward..." murmured the baby dragon, as Twilight facehooved on the inside.

"You mean like, on a date? With you?" asked Rainbow, like it was the silliest idea she had ever heard- and it probably was. Why did Twilight always have to do such stupid stuff? Her heart plummeted as she realized that this filly probably didn't want to, ever.

"Well, yeah. Maybe I wasn't so clear when I shouted, haha..." she said weakly, trying to sound funny to Rainbow, even though she knew it wouldn't work, and it was all over, her life was ruined, there would never be another pon-

Rainbow Dash fluttered over her and gave her a little kiss on the cheek, and all Twilight could think was one of Rainbow's favorite sayings- 'Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!'

Rainbow finally broke away, and gave a cool little smile. "Pick me up at seven okay?" she said. Twilight just smiled happily, remembering the feeling of weightlessness that had flooded through her during that little kiss...

The sound of the door closing brought her out of her inner thoughts, and she laughed out loud. The third time in fifteen minutes? Once again, she was staring helplessly at a closed door.

***

Rainbow Dash stood on the ground- on the ground!- for a couple moments while she gathered her bearings. "ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!" she said, not caring who heard her. She kept on saying that as though she couldn't stop until she was swept up by a pink blur.

"Dashie! You really have to stop shouting- you'll annoy everypony around here!" scolded Pinky Pie. Dash just blinked at the speed the earth pony had grabbed her. She hadn't been shouting, had she?

"Hng- ah- you heard me then?" she asked sheepishly.

"What- you mean your shouting? Well duh. Isn't that why I came to get you- oh wait- what in the cake*?"

Suddenly, Dash's smooth ride turned into a huge group of bumps, each one nearly throwing her off the pony's back. Eventually Pinky just stopped and sat, letting Dash slide off.

"Pinky... What the hell was that?" she asked groggily.

"Er... I think it was... Knee shake, back creak, and... Maybe a flank wiggle?" Pinky giggled. "Oh, I love my combos!"

Dash looked on, feeling in control once more. Well, that was easy... Just a little combo. Now, she had to go get ready, she couldn't keep Twilight waiting-

"Yknow, I remember that combo from somewhere, Dashie. Hmm... It was... Oh! The first day Lyra met BonBon! Oh it was love at first sight... And so..." Pinky paused a moment. "Somepony around here is in love? But, I'm not in love, and there's no other pony around, so it must be-" and then suddenly Pinky gave a huge gasp, a big "oooOOOOooooOOOOOOOOOooooh!", and said "Dashie! Oh, I'm so excited for you! Who is it? Is it- Twilight? That makes sense coz it couldn't be Applejack and it couldn't be me and it can't be Fluttershy or Rarity coz- er- well, you don't talk to them much and I get the feeling you don't even talk to them like friends much so it MUST be Twilight! Wow you two will have so much fun at the party together! Dash?"

Rainbow Dash just stood there staring dumbly at the pink earth pony. "Uh, Pinky? Can I ask you a question?" she almost whispered.

"Oh yeah, sure, Dashie! And you don't look so good right now..."

"Please just don't tell anyone- I was hoping for a couple days at least before anypony knew about Twilight-". Dash broke off with a blush. She had said too much and now Pinky knew exactly who it was-

"But, aren't you going to the party together?!" said Pinky, alarmed. Seeing her get this worked up over a little date made Dash chuckle. Besides, it wasn't like she was doing anything wrong with Twi- she was just going on a date. She wasn't gonna tell her about her love or anything...

It was only then that Dash actually admitted that she felt more than she had said for Twilight- it was then that Dash realized that she really did love Twilight.

"Um... Well yeah, we are, but just... Don't tell anypony about this please? I think Twilight kind of wants to pretend it's a 'friendly date'" begged Dash.

"Okay, Dashie. But just coz we're such good friends..."

***

Twilight sat in her room, about a half hour before seven. She was all dressed up in her finest clothes, which were made especially for her by Rarity. Of course, the pony hadn't known who the 'lucky stallion' was, and it was better that way.

She was ready to go, and pick up Rainbow Dash. But she was too nervous of their date to go anywhere.

"Spike... I don't think I wanna go anymore. You should just leave me here and I'll wait for tomorrow to tell Rainbow why I couldn't come- ugh-"

That last part came from Spike dragging her off the bed and slowly towards the door. "Twilight, this is your big chance. I didn't know mares could like other mares until you told me today" - At this, Twilight had to laugh, remembering his shouts of "OH CELESTIA, MARES CAN DO THAT? - "even though it does make sense with 80% of Equestria being female. And now that I know you two seem kinda right for each other. Maybe your brains could balance her... Well... Ego?"

At this, Twilight had to laugh. "Okay, Spike, if you insist. I'll go to the party with the beautiful Rainbow Dash, and enjoy it too!"

And maybe, Twilight thought to herself, maybe I'll have the courage to tell her that I love her.

***

Dash had just finished her mane- and it nearly made her sick to think how much time she had spent on it, but she wanted to look good for Twilight- when she heard a big dong. Somepony had rung the magical doorbell- hopefully one pony in particular...

Dash poked her head through the clouds to see Twilight standing around, looking for her. "Twilight..." she called. "I'm over here..."

Twilight looked up and gasped in surprise. "Oh wow, Rainbow, your mane looks great!"

Rainbow laughed sheepishly. "Oh, you can see it? It's not that great, just a little something Rarity said would be nice... But wow, have you looked in a mirror Twilight? I mean, you look about 20% cooler than I do right now-" Dash clamped her mouth shut before she said something really stupid. But Twilight was too busy saying thankyou to notice.

"Um... Do you wanna go now Twi?" asked Dash a little nervously, half expecting this apparition- this beautiful Twilight, which was something Dash had never thought she would think- to disappear, or to run away and leave her alone. But Twilight just smiled.

"I'm ready Rainbow- and I need a cute name for you, with you calling me Twi and all-" Twilight shut her mouth just like Dash had a moment ago, and she had to stifle a giggle. A giggle? Since when did the Dash giggle like a schoolfilly?

Since she fell in love with the most beautiful pony in Equestria, whispered her heart.

***

Twilight and Rainbow Dash walked into the party hoof in hoof, much to the surprise of the other ponies in attendance. Why would those two be together? It was such an unlikely mix!

But Twilight knew something that they didn't- that love wasn't something you could control, or that you could choose. Love was something that chose you. She smiled as she thought of the report she would make to the Princess on love.

This party was... Different to the other parties Pinky normally held. The music was slow, the food a lot more tasteful and closer to what Rarity might enjoy than what Pinky would want, and ponies were dancing in each others arms out on the floor, where Pinky was normally making everyone party like she did- that is, energetically. Twilight caught a glimpse of Trixie and Applejack, dancing with their heads on each others shoulders, without a care in the world- and then Rainbow grabbed her by the hoof and spun her out there, laughing.

"Cmon, Twi! Wanna go dance?" she said, laughing since they were pretty much doing that anyway. Twilight laughed herself and let Rainbow lead her out into the dance.

They danced slowly, spinning in time with the music, wrapped in each other's gaze and the sound of the sweet songs that Pinky had played. Eventually, Twilight broke the silence. "Rainbow, I kind of need something to drink... Um, I'll be back in a minute?" Twilight took the opportunity to surprise Rainbow with a quick kiss, full on the lips. Rainbow seemed to... Collapse somehow, and a blissful smile painted her face. Twilight moved reluctantly away from the filly that was slowly changing her life.

As she got herself some punch, a a little drink for her dry throat, she heard a pony behind her. Turning quickly, she saw Applejack, arm in arm with a blushing Trixie. Applejack smiled at her friend. "Ah know yew said yewd take are of my Rainbow Dash problem, but Ah never thought that this would happen!" she said, patting Twilight's shoulder gently. "Good luck with that one Twi... She's a feisty lil pony. And... I'm happy for you."

Twilight watched the earth pony walk away into a sea of congratulations, and thought about those last words. When Applejack had said them, she had had the accent of a... Manehattener perhaps? That would be interesting to check on later. But, she wasn't here for research...

"Twi? You there? Or do I have to go get you?" called that voice playfully, and she turned, finishing her drink and moving back to the cyan filly that she loved.

***

Dash watched as the lavender filly moved back to her, the eyes that had captivated her staring deep into her own. She laid her forelegs around Twilight's neck- maybe bringing them a bit closer than the 'just friends' date called for, although they had probably spoiled that illusion with that little kiss... That wonderful kiss...

"Er, Rainbow? You still with me?" came in the voice of Twilight. Dash almost laughed at the ridiculously cute pose they made; her with her forelegs around Twilight, Twilight staring at her. It was almost too much for Dash...

"Uh, I was saying, do you wanna go outside? Get some fresh air maybe?" she asked brightly, since a couple of ponies looked like they might be listening. Only Dash heard her add under her breath "and maybe some privacy as well..."

Dash liked the sound of this. She followed the beautiful purple pony out of the garden, and she sat down on a bench with the one pony she truly loved.

***

Twilight gave a contented sigh as she and Dash lay on the bench, hoof in hoof. Dash smiled at Twilight a little, and spoke up. "So... The party's nice, I guess", said Rainbow happily. They both knew it wasn't just the party.

"Rainbow Dash, I've enjoyed it just as much as I hope you have..." said Twilight, with genuine happiness. "Maybe even 20% more than you!" she teased gently.

Rainbow snorted and laughed. She nuzzled Twilight's legs gently, parting her lips in what were almost, but not quite kisses. Twilight shivered in pleasure. "I don't think that's even possible, Twi. I mean, everything's always 20% better when you're me, right?" she said, laughing a little. But Twilight didn't laugh; she already knew that in some ways, it was true. As Dash's almost-kisses moved up higher and higher, she quickly moved her head down and stole a kiss. As the kiss got deeper, she knew that it was definitely true.

Rainbow Dash did make everything about 20% better.

***

Lost in her kiss with Twilight, Dash never even noticed the pony sneaking up behind her. She was too busy trying to think- and failing miserably, it must be said. Her thoughts went something along the lines of 'Hey this is nice, she's enjoying it- oh wait, she's kissing me? I was gonna get there eventu- oh wait this feels really good- oooOOOOOoooooOOOOOooo...'

The pony tapped Dash on the back, breaking their heavy embrace apart. Twilight blushed from top to bottom, after being caught in the act, but not the Dash! The Dash was super cool under pressure...

Okay, maybe she blushed a little.

Twilight let out a little squeak. "Oh, er... Hi Rarity..." she said, embarrassed.

"Oh, my little ponies!" said Rarity enthusiastically. "I came here to see which stallion Dash was cheating on you with, Twilight dear, even if it is just a 'friendly date'. I didn't expect it to be you!"

Dash laughed a little. "Haha, it's a long story, and it's really good, remind me to tell you sometime..." she said, intending to move away as fast as she could and save Twilight the pain, but Rarity had barely missed a beat.

"Oh, why didn't you tell us you were courting..." said the white filly happily. At Dash's blank look, she quickly explained. "Courting is a formal word for dating, Dash dear", she said slowly. Sudden enlightenment.

"Well, we would have told you, but, you see..." Twilight flailed for words, not knowing what to say, so Dash helped her out.

"What Twi here's trying to say is that we would have told you, if we hadn't only started today", said Dash with a slightly mischievous grin.

Rarity gasped, and hugged them both. "The first day! Now we have twice the reason to have a party! Darlings, you simply MUST come back right away!" Then, seeing the looks on her friend's faces, she laughed weakly. "Ah- I mean, after you're finished here, of course... Erm, I'll make sure nopony disturbs you! Auntie Rarity has got this under control!" the pony said quickly, and raced away.

"Well, that was interesting", said Twilight a couple moments later. She flushed again, probably for the same reason Dash was- they were alone again, and now they remembered what they were doing...

"So..." said Dash, putting on the coolest, most adorable face she could. Hopefully it worked. "Where were we?"

***

About an hour later, the pair were lying hoof in hoof on a hill, giggling as they played little games with each other. "So... Are you ticklish there Twilight?" asked Rainbow, a smile on her lips as she kissed Twilight's side. Twilight shivered, pleasure and the electric feeling of ticklishness vying for a place in the front of her brain. The ticklishness won. Twilight let out a little laugh- just a small one- but it was enough for Rainbow. "So you ARE ticklish there, are you? Hehe. This should be fun..."

Rainbow kissed that tender spot over and over again, making Twilight laugh so hard she almost cried. "Ah, Twilight, I think that maybe that's enough on that spot. Maybe... Are you ticklish on your eyes?" she asked teasingly, as light kisses hit Twilight's closed eyes. "Or maybe... Your cheeks?" Rainbow kissed her cheeks, a little more forcefully than she had in her eyes. "Hmph. No luck. Ah- maybe... Your lips?" Rainbow smiled, the devious smile of a sneaky filly who knows she just won. Her lips came down hard, a lot more forcefully than they had on her eyes or even her cheeks, and then Twilight lost all coherent thought as she kissed the filly back, and there was nothing in the world but her and this wonderful filly, and the only thing that kept her anchored to the ground was Rainbow Dash, and...

Rainbow broke off the kiss, slowly and sadly, and Twilight moved away just as sadly. Rainbow just held her hoof and drew a little pattern on it, and Twilight smiled and plucked up her courage.

"Um... Rainbow Dash... There's something I need to tell you. Something important."

Rainbow was looking at her in a moment, a question already forming on her face. Twilight just smiled and dove in.

"When I first came to Ponyville, you were the first pony I met and I was... Quite taken with you. You weren't as glamorous as Rarity, or as hardworking as Applejack, but you had style, and amazing strength of will. And I admired that.

"It wasn't until I saw how happy Applejack was with Trixie that I began to think that maybe it would be nice to have a pony with me like that. And then, like a gift from the princesses, you crash into my treehouse and show me who I want.

"I'm not really trying to say much here Rainbow, even though it might be a really long speech. All I really wanted to say was just this one thing- I love you, Rainbow Dash!"

***

Dash was tracing patterns on Twilight's hoof with her hoof, not really paying attention to what her ponyfriend- wow it felt great to call her that- was saying. So it came as a huge shock when the last line went into her brain- 'I love you, Rainbow Dash!'.

Dash kind of went into shock, her brain overloading with the information. Twilight... Loved her? And now she was looking at her with a face, which was smiling... The smile was falling... Tears pooled in her eyes, and Dash knew that she had done something wrong, and that Twilight thought she didn't love her, and Twilight began to turn away...

And it made Dash's heart break to see Twilight leaving her.

Twilight got up, running away from the hill, running away from Dash, and Dash would never see her again. She couldn't let that happen.

She was up like a shot, racing after Twilight as fast as she could. "Twiiiiiiiliiiiiiight!" she yelled as she reached high speeds to try and keep up with the unicorn who was teleporting point to point across the field, back towards Ponyville and her library.

"Twilight, please wait!" Dash yelled again, trying to catch the mare's attention. Twilight looked back once, but just kept moving.

"Cmon, Twi, wait for me!" yelled Dash desperately. She was losing Twilight and now she knew the pain Twilight must have felt just a minute ago, when she hadn't said anything back to her. "Twi! Please!" she tried one last time. When the mare didn't stop, the pegasus just collapsed to the ground, tears streaking her face. Her hair was all in disarray and her beautiful clothes were all ripped- but none of that mattered if Twilight wasn't there. "Twilight..." she whispered. "Twilight... I love you... Come back......... Please..."

And her crying began in earnest.

***

The next morning, Twilight woke up in her library, feeling refreshed. She smiled as memories of last night slowly came back... The party... The dance... The kisses, stolen on a bench and a hill. And then-

Twilight collapsed on her bed, her smile turning into tears, remembering her rejection at the hooves of Rainbow Dash. She had told Rainbow all about her love, and Rainbow had just stared at her like she was the strangest filly she had ever seen. And, she had said nothing, and after only a couple moments Twilight had known the truth.

She was just a fling- just a distraction for the other filly, probably. Well, if Rainbow didn't love her, then why should she go outside? Why face the shame of a world where she could never be with the one she loved, because the other pony didn't love her?

Twilight suddenly became aware of a soft, insistent tap on the door. It had been going on from before she had woken up and she only noticed it now. Twilight moved towards the door, and opened it, and there was Rainbow Dash, looking like she had cried the whole night, but putting on a shaky smile.

Twilight promptly slammed the door closed. She heard some talking from outside- calls to her- but tried her best to ignore them. "Twiiiiiliiiight! Just hear me out! Just let me in, I wanna talk to you! TWIIIIIILIIIGHT!"

Twilight sighed and opened the door. "Fine, Rainbow Dash. If it will stop your whining..."

Rainbow looked a little hurt at this comment, and Twilight winced. Why was it that, even after she had been rejected, she still thought Rainbow was adorable?

"Twilight... I-I didn't do very well last night", said Rainbow hesitantly. Twilight snorted. That was a little bit if an understatement. Rainbow quickly picked up on it. "Okay, I did awful. You told me the truth about you and I just didn't do anything. And I feel awful about that Twi". Rainbow seemed actually sincere on saying this.

"Don't call me that Dash. And I know exactly what happened last night. I was the one who did it, remember?" said Twilight impatiently. If this pony was here to apologize, then Twilight would gracefully accept and pretend to be better. But on the inside, her heart was broken...

"Twi- Er- Twilight... I just wanted to say sorry. And... Well, not just sorry. Something else too."

Rainbow seemed to take a deep breath, the way she did before she shouted. Twilight smiled in remembrance... But remembering only brought back the pain.

"TWILIGHTSPARKLEILOVEYOU..." shouted Rainbow, moving forward and pressing her lips to Twilight's. Twilight struggled a moment- this wasn't how it was meant to go! Rainbow didn't love her, so why didn't she stop the torment?- and then her words rushed through Twilight's brain.

Twilight froze a moment. Dash... Loved her? Her? Twilight Sparkle? But, the night before... Maybe she had taken it the wrong way last night. Maybe, she had messed up with Dash... But now here she was ready to take her back. And then she lost all thought as she realized that Rainbow was telling the truth, and kissed her back.

Lost in their embrace, they didn't notice Spike come in; they didn't notice as Ponyville began to wake up; they didn't care about the ponies that would see them. They were in love, and they didn't care what anypony thought of them.

***

Eventually Dash broke the kiss. She had no idea what the time was, or how long she had spent kissing Twilight, but Twilight had collapsed in her arms with a silly little smile on her face. Dash poked her with a hoof. "Twi? You alive?" All she got in response was a happy little noise and a shift in her arms.

She wondered whether it was possible if... No, it couldn't be. Then again, she WAS the Dash... It was worth a try. "Hey Twi?" she whispered, careful not to disturb her. Twilight lifted her head a little.  "Yes Rainbow?" she said happily, the soppy smile still on her face.

Dash took a deep breath. How would Twilight react? "Twi... Um, I've been thinking. There's stories of Pegasus who took their... Well, their loved ones..." At this Twilight smiled even wider, knowing exactly who she was talking about. "Um, they took their loved ones flying with them. Do you... Do you wanna come fly with me Twi?"

The little lavender filly gasped in surprise, and more than a little delight. Dash was a little shocked. She had expected questions about the safety and all of that- but Twi trusted her completely.

Dash picked her up and put her on her back. She gave a little smile to the beautiful mare and spread her wings. "You ready to fly, Twi?" she asked playfully. She heard a little murmur of assent, and Dash took off into the sky with the filly that she loved.


End file.
